Argentina since the 2001 Crisis is a welcome addition to the study of a complex Latin American case, Argentina, a country beset by instability and governability problems. The volume gathers multidisciplinary contributions to the analysis of the legacies of the 2001 crisis and explores the responses to the crisis in different realms: economic processes, domestic politics, social mobilisation, and cultural practices. In contrast to studies that overemphasise the external debt default and its economic consequences, the contributors address various dimensions of the crisis including its most subtle cultural impact which is often overlooked. Most chapters do not focus only on the crisis but they also account for pre, during, and post events, thus expanding the historical perspective through a thoughtful explanation of how political, economic, social and cultural developments are intertwined as part of a continuum. A distinctive approach ensues from a multi-level analysis of how the crisis has affected society across different geographies within the country. This contributes to expanding the studies that generalise about national politics from the dynamics observed at the central (federal) level of government. Most important, each chapter opens new and relevant venues for research.

One possible path to further exploration of the topic might be the theorisation of the notion of crisis. The editors correctly argue that understanding the nature of crisis implies overcoming false dichotomies of ‘old’ and ‘new’, and ‘instead synthesizing them in order to construct analysis that incorporates elements of both continuity and change into the debate’ (p. 1). This is not a unique or novel insight, though. The argument was widely used in studies of the post-1980s crises in Latin America and the turn towards neoliberal policies that followed. The editors' point is revisited in some of the chapters. For instance, in chapter 6 Heike Schaumberg suggests moving beyond the notion of transition and borrowing the musical analogy of crisis intermezzo. While transition is defined as ‘a process during which the previous act is terminated and replaced by a different one, (…) intermezzo is a bracketed act between two acts of the same piece’ (p. 144). This might be a very helpful analytical concept in the Argentine case and probably other cases too. The conceptual contrast between the two terms may broaden our historical perspective of what happened/is happening in Argentina. In the light of recent developments, it is evident that Argentines have started to anticipate, once again, a new crisis as if they have developed, through recurrent crises, a particular ability to do so and the aftermath of each crisis is just an intermezzo to catch their breath. Several questions arise then: how do perceptions of crisis vary over time? Is the threshold of tolerance higher or lower than usual because of the regular character of crisis and intermezzos? What role do subjective perceptions of critical situations play in the electoral politics dynamics? How do intermezzos affect the time-frame and results of public policies?

A number of things happened during the (last?) intermezzo, though. Several chapters in this volume analyse both rebellion from below and reconstruction from above. The contributors ably illustrate two phenomena radiating from different sources: social mobilisation driven by anger and hope and the state's attempt to demobilise citizens while helping to forge the identity, narrative and historical projection of the Kirchners' model. Yet, the authors did not attempt to integrate the two processes. Neither do they frame that dynamic in terms of broader debates on state-society relations in Latin America. Not having a concluding chapter, the book misses the opportunity to speak to broader audiences and suggest further lines of inquiry of relevance for various fields. Thus, it remains as a pending task to show how an integrated approach drawing on multidisciplinary insights would explain how crises and intermezzos have become naturalised throughout their cyclical recurrence and how Argentine politics (and Peronist politics in particular) have become the art of managing crisis or using intermezzos to re-invent the (now) dominant party.

In particular, with respect to the top-down part of that process, I note that there is an underlying theme in the book: the recasting of state power as, under the Kirchners, post-neoliberalism has promised to bring the state back in and mend the damage made by neoliberal policies. By all accounts, the return of the state seems to be an unfinished, inconsistent and uneven process across geographies of the national territory and across policy areas; it has also been closely intertwined with the government's significant efforts to re-write a narrative of the past, present and future of the country. Therefore, I argue that this volume's emphasis on responses to the crisis might be incomplete. Most chapters, in fact, point out to insufficient, partial, and ideologically-loaded responses. More important, they identify contradictions and tensions between national popular discourses and the policies and the politics of dispossession (i.e. an emphasis on a social welfare agenda and inclusion rhetoric in parallel with increasing marginalisation of some social sectors). This suggests the need to elaborate not only on the responses but also on the lack thereof and selective counteractions. This would include the issues that were silenced; the mobilisation that was demobilised; the dissent that was diluted or simply postponed; the creation of new geographies of spatial segregation and political mobilisation; the ways the state simultaneously protects, intervenes, neglects, and/or abuses citizens' rights. An analysis of these somewhat contradictory processes might explain the paradox that the protesters' slogan ‘¡Qué se vayan todos! (They all must go!) faded in front of politicians’ resilience and resistance to leave and to implement necessary political reforms. Old and new factions continue struggling today as the time of election approaches, while popular discontent persists and focuses on recurrent problems (e.g., corruption, insecurity, inflation). The authors' emphasis on the component of hope contained in the 2001 protests begs further exploration of why hope has not been fulfilled yet and, perhaps, a conceptual refinement to distinguish between what protesters hoped for or dreamed of and what they in fact expected, that is, the scope of change they could realistically imagine and work for.

Finally, the 2001 crisis indirectly paved the way for some strategies, namely a reaffirmation of Argentina's place in the Latin American context and commitment to regional integration. As several chapters show, the Kirchners encouraged a rapprochement to Latin America, deliberately seeking a regional platform to advance certain narrative and policy goals. Yet, re-situating the country in its indigenous background still coexists with the myth of being an exceptional, mostly white society of European ascent. This is clearly illustrated in Aguilo's chapter on racism in literary works and Dinardi's discussion on identity during the Bicentenario celebration. Exploring the real nature of ‘(re)Latinoamericanisation’ is still a pending task as the book is not particularly strong on the international dimension of recent policies. Again, this is a realm in which other studies have identified tensions and contradictions. Some have argued that the Kirchners never developed a clear, well-articulated foreign policy. Some others have suggested that Argentina's international stances have lately contributed to the marginalisation of the country from relevant international circles. Hence, exploring whether this move is just a rhetorical tool or a substantive redefinition of national identity and interests might be a fruitful research venue.